Racing Pays Its Respects to Passing of the Queen

Racing will join the rest of Britain and much of the Commonwealth Sept. 19 when it comes to a halt for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. 

Four scheduled meetings were canceled by the BHA as soon as the date of the funeral was announced, while the schedule of entries and declarations has been amended so that Monday will be officially a blank day for the sport in Britain. 

There will be no British greyhound meetings, while major retail bookmaking chains, including Ladbrokes, Coral, Paddy Power, William Hill, and Betfred, will all remain closed as a mark of respect.

Two meetings will go ahead in Ireland, with fixtures at Listowel over jumps and Fairyhouse on the flat. 

Racing was an abiding passion for the Queen, and the sport's governing body in Britain moved quickly to ensure its participants would be able to spend the day following events in London and Windsor.  

At 10:44 a.m. GMT the Queen's coffin will be borne by gun carriage on the short journey from Westminster Hall, where it has been lying in state since Wednesday, to Westminster Abbey, where the state funeral will begin at 11 a.m. 

Approximately 2,000 mourners will attend the funeral, led by King Charles III and members of the royal family, and a number foreign heads of state as well as political and spiritual representatives from the devolved nations. 

The Queen's racing manager, John Warren, will join the congregation, while a number of other figures from the world of racing are also expected to attend. 

Chris Waller initially featured among the special guests invited as part of the Australian delegation by the country's prime minister, Anthony Albanese, but the New Zealand-born trainer has had to withdraw after a close contact tested positive for COVID-19.

Australian training great Gai Waterhouse will attend, having received an invitation on behalf of the royal household from the Lord Chamberlain, Baron Parker of Minsmere.

As the service draws to a close, a bugler sounding the last post will mark the start of a two-minute silence to be observed across the country, to be followed in the abbey by the national anthem. 

The Queen's coffin will then be taken to the Wellington Arch, her gun carriage pulled by a team of 98 Royal Navy sailors. From there it will travel by royal hearse to Windsor, where at 3:10 p.m. it will join a procession for the final journey up the Long Walk to the castle and then to the steps of St George's Chapel.

At 4 p.m. the committal service will begin in the chapel, the last major televised part of the day's proceedings.

The BHA has scheduled six additional meetings between Sept. 21 and Oct. 9 to compensate for races lost in the immediate wake of the announcement of the Queen's death as well as the four that would have been staged on the day of the funeral. 

Each will be a six-race card with the possibility of being divided to run eight if required.